It’s tough to figure what has made Florida rock band A Day to Remember so popular.

Its metalcore/screamo songs, despite four of them cracking the Top 40, are far from impressive – standard fare in which singer Jeremy McKinnon shouts lyrics over the incessant churn of guitars and drums. Its pop-punk songs are better, but also nothing impressive.

But the band’s headlining set on the House Party Tour that stopped Saturday at Sands Bethlehem Event Center with All Time Low, Pierce The Veil and The Wonder Years explained it.

A Day to Remember is the Nickelback of metal.

A Day to Remember singer Jeremy McKinnonPhotos by Brian Hineline/Special to The Morning Call

In a 20-song, 85-minute set, A Day to Remember, like that Canadian band, pulled out every trick it could: It had a huge set with the exterior of a house [it’s the House Party Tour – get it?], explosions, fireworks, fire balls, an acoustic set, Santa (!) and more [more about all this later] to prop up its show.

But mostly it offered bland metalcore with ersatz aggression that was safe and young-audience-ready -- and totally contrived. The show also had the desperate feel of the band just throwing out every trick it could, hoping something would stick.

A Day to Remember's 'house' stage

There wasn’t one real rock and roll moment in the whole set.

It opened with the band’s biggest hit, “All I Want,” and through the first third of the show used that screamo formula, shouting self-aggrandizing statements such as, before “2nd Sucks,” “How many people came here to dance? Well, if you wanted it, you go it!”

The new single “Right Back At It Again,” from the just-released disc “Common Courtesy,” had a little more melody.

The band also used props such as a guitarist climbing onto the house’s “garage roof” to play, bursts of flames and columns of steam blasts on “A Shot in the Dark.” It got even weirder when Santa, an elf, guys dropping fake snow and others with T-shirt guns came out after “You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic.”

And speaking of weird, the group then did a nu-metal cover of The Fray’s “Over My Head (Cable Car).”

An acoustic mini-set of “You Had Me at Hello” and “If It Means Alot to You,” with McKinnon backed just by acoustic guitar, actually was the band’s best moment musically.

Presented as acoustic emo, it sounded like Dashboard Confessional, though it was disingenuous for McKinnon to say the band did acoustic because it was “what no one would expect.” Really? Everyone does an acoustic set these days.

It was back to tricks for the hit “It’s Complicated,” with McKinnon climbing into a huge clear ball to roll out over the audience, ala The Flaming Lips. There were fire balls for the percussion-heavy “Mr. Highway’s Thinking About the End” and steam columns for the sludgy new “Dead and Buried.”

For the hit “Have Faith in Me” – with more melody, it was easy to see why the song is one of A Day to Remember’s bigger hits – the house even burst into flames, and McKinnon climbed on the garage roof to sing. And for “Monument,” the group tossed rolls of toilet paper into the crowd.

The main set closed with the early (2007) favorite “The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle.”

All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat

It was back to screamo for the encore on another new song, “Violence (Enough is Enough),” then back to pop-punk for the Top 40 “All Signs Point to Fort Lauderdale,” for which the band filled the stage with “friends” from the audience who crashed its “House Party.”

It even had “cops” come out for the closing “The Downfall of Us All,” complete with a “helicopter” – “Oh look! It’s a helicopter,” McKinnon said, astutely -- followed by an explosion and more fire.

As perplexing as the band’s music is just why the nearly sold-out audience embraced A Day to Remember’s music so thoroughly. They sang along loudly, jumped and generally looked enrapt.

Of course, a lot of people like Nickelback, too.

Co-headliner All Time Low was far better in its nine-song, 65-minute set, offering the best of real pop-punk.

It started with the very good “The Reckless and The Brave,” sounding a lot like Green Day with a good melody and real aggression in a punk way.

All Time Low singer Alex Gaskarth

Virtually every one of its songs was better than A Day to Remember’s. Its 2009 hit “Weightless” was well performed, with emotion that came through. “Lost in Stereo” also was good – to the point where singer Alex Gaskarth told the crowd, “Let’s not lose the moment. Let’s keep it going.”

The band then kicked into its biggest hit, 2009’s “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t).” It has a great melody and great hook, and All Time Low performed the heck out of it as the crowd sang along. Later, “Back Street Serenade” was more tender and had good melody.

It wasn’t just All Time Low’s music that was better. It had a loopy, fun – and uncontrived -- stage presence that A Day to Remember was totally missing. It also brought people on stage, but to sing – to its 2011 hit “Time-Bomb.” It urged circle mosh pits and people to crowd surf.

There were some weak points, though. A new song, its single “A Love Like War” from the new disc “Don’t Panic,” fell into the same sound-alike routine as much of A Day to Remember’s set. And All Time Low skipped one of its biggest songs, “I Feel Like Dancin’”

But it closed with a great version of its gold hit “Dear Maria, Count Me In,” and even stopped the song for five minutes halfway through when a fight broke out in the crowd and security had to rush through to stop it.

Pierce The Veil

Supporting act Pierce The Veil also had real aggression, but little else, in its 35-minute, seven-song set, most of which was undistinguished screamo. The exceptions were “Bulletproof Love,” which added some melody and was much better, and “Hold On Till May,” which was intricate and experimental.

The crowd liked the closing “King For a Day.”

Philadelphia pop-punk band The Wonder Years opened the show with a pop-punk set that was largely cliched. But during its set, the crowd was so enthusiastic that at least two people were carried out on backboards by medical personnel. Another, in a neck brace, was carried out during Pierce The Veil.

First of all just because u people don't like adtr doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't. this was the first sold out show on the tour so??? and second of all it's BACK SEAT SERENADE ugh and a love like war is on don't panic: it's longer now. do your research before you report on things also ptv never performed hold on till may, it was a match into water you poor poor people. now i know the reason why you guys keep sending us newspapers that we don't even want, because you can't get rid of them otherwise because you have stupid annoying opinions that make no sense

Posted By: common sense | Oct 26, 2013 11:58:18 AM

Jebus. Okay. I'm not a fan of Nickelback, but I do not freaking think that they're bad. I listened to some of their songs and it's cool. A Day to Remember and Nickelback focus on/sing/write 2 different genres, sucker. Oh and wait, All Time Low has a song named "Back Street Serenade?" Wow! "A Love Like War" is in the "Don't Panic: It's Longer Now"

i understand people have opinions. but you can’t really send a critic, who is obviously closed-minded to anything in post hardcore genre of music, to a show that includes the genre. i completely get that not everyone is going to like the music that i like and i’m not saying that’s a crime. but are you seriously going to say that “A Day To Remember is the Nickleback of metal”?

first of all, that’s insulting 2 bands that obviously are making more of a living that the critic does. i’m not a fan of nickleback, but that doesn’t mean that i’m going to make stupid comments about them.

i know everyone likes different music, everyone has different taste, but this is ridiculous.

"Back Street Serenade"? really? and pierce the veil did not play hold on till may ONCE during that set. a love like war is not on don’t panic, it’s on don’t panic: it’s longer now. the wonder years is largely cliched? come on now. calling adtr "screamo" and "emo"? there’s probably way more mistakes in there but i couldn’t stomach reading the whole thing. at least do your research before you make a review on something.

Posted By: eve | Oct 31, 2013 12:36:33 PM

Of course they have someone who obviously doesn't know anything about any of these bands write a whole article about how much they think it "sucks." You don't seem to know how to do your job, maybe you should go work somewhere else.

Posted By: Alisha | Dec 27, 2013 11:16:41 PM

For real? Like dude this is the worst written critique I have EVER read. You are not able to remain unbiased in your job and you cannot handle different things. Not being able to accept that not everyone likes what you like will bring you down in life and I am sorry that you cannot even use your brain enough to figure that out. You are not capable of performing in a functioning everyday society and I am sorry for that. I hope that one day someone will put you in your place and teach you how to be a successful human being. Because, as of now. You , Sir are doing it wrong.

A Day To Remember got to where they are by being talented. I frequently here them reffered to as "the best band I've ever heard live." Jeremy has a beautiful vocal range and refuses to autotune his music, and he doesn't need to. Not to mention how amazingly Neil, Kevin, Alex, and Josh play. People who don't appreciate the effort they've put in since early '03 don't deserve to get to see them live.

Posted By: Maranda | Feb 20, 2014 8:53:34 PM

wow. the ignorance in this "article" is astounding. figures that they would have someone who knows nothing about the scene to a show to explain how much they supposedly suck. maybe if it was toby Keith or lil wayne youd have a review saying how bad he wants to suck theyre c..

Posted By: fakya | Oct 12, 2014 6:58:55 AM

Leave A Comment

NOTE: Please express your opinions in a civil and respectful manner. Insensitive, inflammatory and derogatory comments will be removed at our discretion.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.